


The Lemur

by LeelaSmall



Category: The Amazing World of Gumball
Genre: Body hate, Boss/Employee Relationship, Broken Families, Car Accidents, Coma, F/M, Heart Conditions, Hospitalization, Injury Recovery, Interns & Internships, Night Terrors, Personal Growth, Prinzmetal's angina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 06:54:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21239987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeelaSmall/pseuds/LeelaSmall
Summary: Mr. Small has never found true love, but what happens when someone new enters his life and changes his view on love completely? Mr Small&OC (pairing name: Steela) [Original publish date: May 30, 2013]





	1. Realizations

'Breathe in, breathe out… All is well with the world… Breathe in, breathe out… You are one with the universe… Breathe in, breathe out… All is in peace…'

Those were the thoughts going through his head whilst meditating. They had become his personal mantra, repeating those exact words in his head routinely. Every day he would sit on top of his desk in a in a half-lotus position, his thumb and middle finger from each hand touching each other and his eyes closed, trying to find serenity through the soothing sound of sitar music playing in the background. It was the only time of day Steve Small could escape from the real world, and enter his own. A world without worries, without sadness, without the pressures of everyday life…

Alas his moment of enlightenment had to be cut short when he heard a knock on his office door. Every time he returned to the real world after meditating he found the inside of his office so dull in comparison with the world in his mind. Sitting back behind his desk he couldn't help but notice how the walls needed to be repainted...

"Mr. Small?" he turned to his left to see a young peanut with antlers poking her head inside the room. Her expression transmitted uncertainty, which wasn't very usual for the young girl, who Steve was familiar with. He gave her an encouraging smile.

"Yes Penny, come right in." he gestured towards one of the free chairs in front of his desk. The preteen peanut made her way to one of the chairs, hugging her schoolbook tightly against her chest. 'Anxiety', Steve thought to himself, being an expert in the matter. "So, how can I help you today?"

"Well… the thing is… there's this boy I like…" she was starting to sweat. 'Ah, the dreaded subject of childhood crushes', he thought. "…and I think he likes me too, but… how can I be sure?"

"Well, Penny, love can work in mysterious ways." he got up from his chair and sat on the front of his desk to make Penny feel more comfortable. "You see, love is kind of like a jack-in-the-box. It seems plain and dull at first, but if your work on it, it will surprise you. Besides, you're still young. If it's meant to happen, it will." he finished by petting her head kindly. She smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Small. That really lifted up my spirits."

"Hey, that's why I'm here. Now go and learn, my young leader of tomorrow." he gestured towards the door in a somewhat heroic manner, which made Penny giggle. She was about to leave, but as she grabbed the doorknob, she turned back to the counselor.

"Mr. Small?"

"Yes, Penny?"

"Have you ever found true love?"

The adult cloud-man froze. That was a topic he rarely touched. His love life had been fleeting at best, filled with heartbreaks and disappointments, just like any other. Although he was technically in his forties, he had stopped aging when he turned twenty-seven, as everyone in his species did. Still, somehow he felt like he wasn't getting any younger, and most of the time he would end up feeling as lonely as can be.

"No, not yet. But I'm still looking!" he tried to fake a smile as best as he could, which Penny returned.

"Well, I hope you do. And thank you again for the advice." she exited, gently closing the door behind her and leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He returned to his desk to try and organize some papers, but his mind was lost in thought. Normally when he thought about love, he would start demeaning himself, thinking no woman would ever love him for how he was. Most of the girls he had dated when he was younger weren't into the same things as him, and that would usually generate conflicts. He was all into veganism, sixties' music, independent film festivals… Generally he just had to tell a girl he didn't eat meat to make her run to the hills. Before he thought that it didn't matter that he didn't have anything in common with the girl he liked, but experience had proven him otherwise.

The thought of being alone forever made him sigh, but he was snapped out of his trance when he heard the sound of two different young male voices scream pass his office door, followed by heavy stomps that shook the floor enough to make him and his desk jump with his step the creature took. He didn't have to go see for himself to know what was going on, which he refused to do out of sheer terror.

Tina Rex was chasing someone.


	2. Formalities and First Impressions

"DARWIN, WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING?! WHY DID YOU SAY TINA WAS FAT?!"

"I DIDN'T SAY SHE WAS FAT! I TOLD HER TO MOVE OVER BECAUSE SHE WAS CRUSHING ME AGAINST THE WALL! SHE JUST UNDERSTOOD THAT AS BEING CALLED 'FAT'!"

"STILL, YOU COULD HAVE SAID THAT IN A BETTER WAY! AND YOU COULD'VE LET ME OUT OF IT!"

The cat and the fish ran for their lives as the T-Rex chased them throughout the hallways of Elmore Junior High, panting furiously and growling loudly. They saw their salvation coming up in front of them as they were reaching the building's main entrance.

"Oh, finally!" Gumball was running out of strength to run. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"We can't leave school! We still have our afternoon classes!" Darwin reminded is feline friend.

"WOULD YOU RATHER STAY AND FACE THAT?!" Gumball pointed at Tina, who let out another vicious growl.

The two boys picked up the pace and ran out the door, the dinosaur still on their tail. They were considerably ahead of her, but she wouldn't quit, so as they reached the end of the street they tried to ditch her by making a right into another street. They started laughing nervously.

"I… I think… I think we've lost her…" Gumball said, trying to catch his breath. They were looking back to confirm said fact, unknowingly running into the middle of the road. When they looked in front of them again all they saw was the front of a dark-blue Vespa scooter. They screamed and braced themselves for impact, but the driver was able to stop right on time.

"Hey, you boys should be more careful! You can't just go running around willy-nilly like that!"

They looked up to see that the driver was a female ring-tailed lemur. She had light-grey fur covering most of her body, except her hands, which were dark-grey, the area around her eyes, were her fur was black, giving her the appearance of being wearing a mask, and her tail, which was white with black stripes. Her eyes were yellow with black pupils, and she had white wavy hair with black streaks, resembling her tail. She wore a plain yellow t-shirt with a modest cleavage, which showed that her chest was white, jeans, black and white sneakers, and a helmet with the same color as her scooter. She appeared to be in her 20's.

And she didn't look too pleased for almost running over two kids.

"Lady, you gotta help us!" Gumball begged the complete stranger. "There's a T-Rex chasing us!" the lemur's eyes widened.

Meanwhile Tina had just reached the turn where she had seen her prey disappear, but when she made it all she saw was a young female lemur wiping some oil off the side of her Vespa.

"Have you seen a cat and a fish run by?" she asked the stranger, approaching her in fury. The lemur got up and poked her chin in thought.

"Oh yeah, as a matter of fact I did!" she declared, making Tina smile viciously, and pointed behind her. "They went that way."

"Thanks." Tina ran off in search of the two youngsters. The lemur lifted the Vespa's seat, which was also the trunk.

"It's safe. You can come out now." she told Gumball and Darwin, who had squeezed themselves into the small compartment to hide from their predator. They squeezed out and gasped for air.

"Thanks, lady…" Gumball panted.

"No prob." she smiled at the two as they jumped off her Vespa.

"Is there anything we can do to thank you?" asked Darwin, sweetly.

"Actually there is." she said as she lowered her seat and hopped onto her vehicle. "You wouldn't happen to know where Elmore Junior High is, would you?"

"We were just gonna head back there." replied Gumball.

"Well then, hop in and I'll take you there." She patted the empty portion of the seat behind her.

"We're not supposed to accept lifts from strangers." Explained Darwin.

"But I'm not a stranger! I'm the chick who saved your life!" she giggled. The two boys smiled and hopped onto the lemur's Vespa. They held onto the seat as she zoomed through the streets. "Name's Leela, by the way. Leela Winters."

"I'm Gumball and this is Darwin." Gumball pointed at himself and his brother.

"We're the Wattersons!" Darwin stated, joyfully. Leela giggled again. She pulled over as they spotted the school. "We've never seen you around before. Are you new?" he asked, as he and Gumball jumped off of the seat.

"I go to Elmore Community College." She explained as she removed her helmet, revealing that her hair was parted to the right and that she had light-grey ears with furry white tips. "I used to live in a dorm but a few months ago I finally earned enough to rent an apartment."

"Oh. Well then, seeya!" said Gumball, as the two boys started walking towards the building.

"Wait!" Leela cried out, making them stop in their tracks and turn back around. She scratched the back of her head. "I need one more favor…"

"Sure!" Darwin grinned. She walked up to them.

"I need your help to find someone. Do you know a Mr. Steve Small?"

"Mr. Small's first name is 'Steve'?" Gumball asked Darwin, who shrugged. He turned back to the lemur. "Yeah, we know him. He's the school's guidance counselor."

"Oh good, could you take me to him?"

Gumball nodded and gestured so she would follow her. They walked up the stairs and entered the school. Leela looked around, absorbing all the scents and colors.

"So, why do need to see Mr. Small, again?" Gumball asked Leela.

"Curious little chap, aren't you?" she lifted an eyebrow at him, making him shrug and smile innocently. "I'm in my senior year and I applied for an internship here, with Mr. Small as my 'boss'." She made air quotes around the word 'boss'. Finally they reached a door in the middle of the hallway.

"Here it is." Gumball gestured towards the door. "We gotta get to class now."

"OK. Thanks guys, I'll see you around!" she thanked them with a smile.

"Bye, Leela!" Darwin waved. They continued down the hallway as Leela faced the door and took a deep breath.

Meanwhile inside, Mr. Small was about to take a sip from his mug, inhaling the sweet scent of his special herbal infusion. He sighed deeply in pleasure.

"Finally…" he took the mug up to his lips, but before he could have a drink he heard a knock at his door. He frowned, settled his mug down on his desk, took a deep breath to calm himself and tried to smile convincingly. "Come in." The door opened and Leela entered slowly.

"Mr. Steve Small?" she asked nervously.

"Yes?"

"My name is Leela Winters. I contacted you earlier this month? You accepted me as your intern?"

"Oh yes, that's right! Please sit down." He gestured towards the chairs in front of his desk, one of which Leela sat down on. "I'm sorry, I was expecting you, but I got a little distracted." He smiled, embarrassed. He retrieved some papers from the inside of his desk and gave them a look. "I see you're majoring in Child Psychology."

"That's right."

"Mh-hm… May I ask why you chose that area?"

"Well, ever since I was a kid I've always been fascinated by psychology, and I've always been told that I'm great at reading people…" he nodded as she explained herself. "And I've always loved children. Even as an adult I got along better with kids than adults. So when the time came to choose what I wanted to major in, I just put both together and chose Child Psychology."

"Interesting…" he smiled, obviously interested by her story. "Well I majored in Child Psychology and I don't regret it one bit." She returned the smile. He looked over at his papers again. "And I see you're from Vancouver… What made you apply to college so far away from home?"

"Elmore Community College has a great psychology program. As much as I miss my homeland, I'm glad I followed my dreams." He nodded in agreement.

"Bold move… I respect that." That made her smile. "Well, everything seems in order. Your grades are excellent, you have the right amount of credits… There's just one thing I need to understand. According to your birthdate you're now…" he looked up at her. "…twenty-five?"

"Yes…" she knew what he was going to ask next.

"My question is: shouldn't you have finished college about…" he thought for a minute. "…four years ago?" Leela's expression turned serious. She sighed and stared at her hands on her lap.

"When I graduated high school there was a series of circumstances that didn't allow me to pursue my studies, and I had to stay inactive for four years…" she looked up. He looked concerned, so she smiled to reassure him. "But I'm all better now, so no need to worry."

"Good, that's good to hear." His smile returned and stored his papers back in his drawer. "That's all for now. You can start tomorrow, Leela." They both got up and Leela shook Mr. Small's hand.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Small." She thanked him heartily as they both moved towards the door.

"My pleasure. And please, call me Steve."

He opened the door for her and they both said their goodbyes. After she left he unknowingly observed her walk away, with a wide smile that he just couldn't wash off his face.


	3. Nocturnal Panic

_"Mommy, where are we going?"_

_"We're… we're going for a ride, dear."_

_"Yay! I like going on car rides with you, mommy!"_

_"Me too, sweetie. Me too…"_

_"Look mommy, I can see the ocean!"_

_"That's where we're going, honey."_

_"Are we going to the beach? In the winter?"_

_"I… you'll see…"_

_"Mommy, why are you driving on the boardwalk?"_

_"We're going to the ocean, dear! Just like I promised!"_

_"Mommy, why are you speeding up?! We're running out of road!"_

_"Don't worry, sweetie… it'll all be over… soon…"_

_"MOMMY, NO! MOMMMMYYYY!"_

Leela sat up as she awoke abruptly, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. Her heart was beating uncontrollably, a searing pain appearing in her chest. She weakly dragged herself to the bathroom, where she popped open a box of pills and poured some of its content into her hand. She took the pills into her mouth and washed them down with a glass of water. She held onto the bathroom counter as she waited for the pain to disappear.

This procedure had become a routine to her. She had been having night terrors from a very tender age, and it didn't matter how many treatments they made her undertake, they never stopped. They actually got worse over the years. Eventually she had gotten used to having to sleep less than she was supposed to, yet that had brought terrible repercussions to her health…

As her pain withered she looked up at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her hair was a mess, sticking out in different directions. She had a hunch why. Although she always fell asleep with her stomach facing down, she would wake up in a completely different position, her covers pulled out from under the mattress and rolled around as if they had been hit by a tornado. There was no doubt that her night terrors made her squirm and roll around in her sleep.

She observed the rest of her body. The tank top she slept in dangled by its straps, and not because it was too big for her. She lifted it up over her stomach and looked at her skinny torso, her ribs so visible it almost seemed they were trying to escape her body. She wasn't anorexic, but she wasn't a picture of perfect health either. She was thankful that her clothes hid her upper body enough for other people not to notice how unhealthily thin she was, although most days she wished she could just rip her ribs right out and look normal for a change.

Rolling her top back down, she looked up at her face again. She hated the way she looked. She hated her eyes. She hated her ears. She hated everything about herself. Like anyone else in that state of mind she had thought about ending her life more than once, but she was no quitter. What made her through the day was the thought of her parents, and how they would feel if she would do something as stupid as killing herself. So she just forced herself to smile and make it through another day without giving anyone the impression that underneath her independent cheery self laid an insecure and self-destructive identity.

She splashed some water onto her face to make herself at least a little bit better, and decided to make her awaken state useful by going to the kitchen and programming her coffeemaker to start itself at the time she was supposed to get up. She looked up at the clock on the wall: 3:06. She was only supposed to get up in a little less than four hours, so she dragged herself back into bed and tried her best to fall back asleep, despite the fact that her mind was now running at full speed. She tried thinking about the most boring things she could remember: watching grass grow… paint drying… a documentary about snails…

Eventually she just gave up and started thinking about her internship, which she was going to start in the morning. She wondered if it was going to be exciting, or at least interesting. She thought about the counseling she was going to give those school kids, if she could. She thought about… her boss.

For some reason she couldn't get the image of Steve Small out of her head. She didn't know why, but she felt fascinated by him from the moment they first met. There was just something about him… Was it because he looked like an overgrown cloud? Was it his mannerisms? His sympathy? His eyes? She kept thinking about what made him so remarkable until she finally dozed off into a deep sleep, the image of her boss still in her head.

A few hours later she was awaken by rays of sunlight entering through her blinds. At first she only figured that she hadn't closed her blinds completely, but then her eyes snapped open. Why was there so much sunlight at that hour? She grabbed her alarm clock and froze: it was 7:35. Her alarm hadn't gone off. AGAIN.

She threw her alarm clock against the wall, cursing to herself, jumped off her bed and ran into the shower. Elmore Junior High was fifteen minutes away, so she had to hurry if she wanted to make it in time. And she really didn't want to be late on her first day.

After getting dressed as fast as she could, she hurried to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee, thanking herself for remembering to program the coffeemaker before. As she stuck a donut into her mouth, she grabbed her messenger bag, her keys and her cell phone and grabbed the doorknob to leave, but stopped. She ran back into the bathroom to retrieve the pill box she had used just a few hours before. After dropping it into her bag she ran out, slamming the door behind her.


	4. Day One

Leela managed to reach the school just in time, zooming through traffic at an almost suicidal speed. She was lucky enough not to pass any police cars, or she would've gotten a ticket for sure. As she turned off her Vespa she sighed, trying to calm her nerves down, and unbuckled her helmet.

"Good morning!"

That greeting made her jump, almost falling off her vehicle. When she turned around she saw Steve, smiling at her with his arms crossed behind his back.

"Oh, hey! You startled me…" she sighed, taking her hand to her chest.

"You seem tense. Is everything OK?"

"Yeah, it's just that my alarm clock flaked out on me and I had to drive here like a maniac…" she explained herself, as she removed her bag from her trunk and replaced it with her helmet.

"Ah, faulty alarm clocks… a punctual person's worst nightmare." he joked, making her giggle. "But you shouldn't drive too fast, it's not safe. Especially in that." he pointed at her Vespa.

"Actually, Vespa scooters are less dangerous than actual motorcycles."

"Less, but still dangerous." he pointed out. She giggled, and he didn't understand why. "What?"

"You sound just like my dad." she chuckled. For reasons he couldn't explain, that remark made him blush. He cleared his throat.

"Well then, shall we head inside?" he gestured towards the building's entrance. She nodded and accompanied him inside.

"So, what exactly do you do?" she asked as they passed the doors and headed down the hall.

"Well, besides counseling students when they are in need, I fill in as a substitute teacher when one of the other teachers can't make it."

"That sounds easy."

"It's actually more complicated than it sounds. But you'll see for yourself."

Steve unlocked his office door and let Leela inside first. She stopped as soon as she entered, for there was another desk right next to his. It wasn't there the day before.

"That desk wasn't here yesterday… I'm not seeing double, am I?" she asked, baffled.

"I asked Principal Brown to put another desk in my office for you. I wouldn't want my intern to sit on the floor, now would I?" he replied with a smile.

"But this office is already tiny as it is! I wouldn't want to take over your space…"

"You're not, don't worry! Besides, this is now your space, too." he assured her. She smiled, thankful for having such a cool boss. They took their respective seats and Leela removed her laptop from inside her bag.

"Hey, you don't mind if I work on my thesis from time to time, do you?" she asked, carefully placing the device on her desk and turning it on.

"Not at all! What's it about?" he asked, scooting closer to check the laptop's screen.

"I'm studying the psychological effects of hugs on human behavior." she explained, double-clicking a file labeled 'thesis'. "Everybody already knows they're good, but I want to dig deeper."

When the file opened, the title page appeared. It read 'To Be Held: How Hugs Affect Human Behavior, by Leela Winters'. Steve checked the page count.

"Seventy-two pages? How did you get so much information?" he was really surprised.

"It's mostly pictures and comments from people who wanted to give an opinion on the matter. But I think I'm really getting somewhere with this. You see, most people have an innate physical and emotional need to be touched and hugged, especially by…"

As she explained her thesis to him, Steve found himself observing her with more interest than he thought he would, and at some point his mind blocked out her words and focused on her appearance and behavior. He admired how intelligent she was, and he admired her enthusiasm on such a complicated subject. It reminded him of his younger self.

And somehow, he also admired the way she looked. She was so out of the ordinary, it made her somewhat beautiful, like something he had never seen before.

"Uh… Steve?" she snapped him back into reality. He was so absorbed in thought he didn't notice that she had stopped talking for a few seconds, in which time he had unknowingly been staring at her.

"Oh, sorry!" he chuckled, feeling his cheeks warm up again. "Uh, keep up the good work!" he patted her on the shoulder and scooted back to his side. Leela looked at him confused for a few seconds, but then shrugged and focused back on the work in front of her.

A few hours and few more pages of theory later, Leela's stomach started to grumble. She checked her cell phone for the time: 12:45.

"Steve, when's lunch time?" she asked her cloud-like boss, who checked his own watch.

"Right now, if you want to." he smiled at her. She returned the smile. "Did you bring your own, or do you want to head down to the cafeteria?"

"I brought my own." she replied, retrieving a Tupperware container from her bag.

"So did I." he took out a sandwich wrapped in cellophane from one of his drawers. "I don't trust the cafeteria's meals. They don't have anything adequate for my food choices."

"No vegetarian options?" she asked, making him face her with a surprised look on his face.

"Vegan, actually. How did you…?"

"I have the exact same problem. Whenever I want to find a place where they serve meatless dishes, I have the worst luck."

"It is a problem around these parts…" a wide smile had grown across his face. "How long have you been a vegetarian?"

"Since I was a kid. I don't remember my age, but I was very young. Ever since…" her expression turned serious.

"Since what?" he asked, concerned. She shook her head.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." she smiled trying cover up her real state of mind. "So what are you having?" she asked, pointing at his sandwich.

"Tofu and lettuce on rye. You?"

"Spaghetti and soy balls. They're meatballs, only made of soy." she stuck her fork into the pasta and turned it to roll the strands onto the piece of cutlery.

"Sounds good. Did you make it?" he took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Uh-huh." she nodded. "I don't really like to cook, but I can't eat out every day, so I force myself to make something decent enough for dinner and next day's lunch." she took her fork to her mouth and savored the delicious flavor of her cooking. "I know what you're thinking: 'why on earth does she eat the same thing for dinner and lunch in the next day?'" she swallowed. "Here's the thing: I always make too much, and I'm too stingy to throw the leftovers away, so I think 'Why waste it? Just eat it again tomorrow!' I really don't mind."

"Actually I was thinking if I could have a taste."

"Sure." she stabbed a soy ball with her fork, rolled some more spaghetti around it and handed it to him. Steve took the food to his mouth and moaned in pleasure.

"This is delicious!" he exclaimed with his mouth full, making Leela smile embarrassed. "I wouldn't mind having this more often."

"Well, I can cook for you sometime, if you like." she replied, smiling timidly at his compliment.

"I'd like that." he said. For reasons she didn't quite understand, Leela felt her cheeks burn. She didn't know if it was his reply or the way he looked at her, but she blushed like she had never blushed before. She turned away so he couldn't see her face, and they both continued their meal in silence.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon went by as smoothly as ever. Leela was able to progress on her thesis a little more, but after two hours she felt so tired that she involuntarily stretched out her arms. When she noticed what she was doing she quickly lowered her arms and blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry!" she apologized to Steve, who hadn't noticed her transgression. "After too much time in front of a computer I'm starting to feel numb." she cracked her back.

"Whenever I feel that way I like to relax with some Tai Chi." he turned around and pushed a button on his radio, which started to play soothing oriental sounds. "Care to join me?"

"That sounds awesome." she replied, feeling a little worn out.

They stood in the space in front of the desks and Steve started moving gracefully to the sound of the calming music. Leela tried to do the same as him, but somehow ended up losing her balance and falling flat on her rear. He looked over at her as she rubbed her sore behind.

"Sorry… I have terrible balance…" she explained as she got back up on her feet.

"The trick is to forget about everything else around you." he swayed even more gracefully to prove his point. "Become one with the music…" she tried closing her eyes and trying again, but instead of becoming one with the music she became one with the wall, when she slammed her face into it.

"Ow! Geez…" she massaged her nose. It wasn't broken, but it hurt like heck. Steve smiled sympathetically at her.

"Here, let me help you." he took her hand and positioned her in the center of the room, afterwards placing himself behind her and gently holding her arms. His touch sent shivers down her spine, but not in a bad way. It was warm and comforting. "You're too tense." He could feel the tension in her muscles. "You have to relax…" he slowly moved her arms from one side to another. "Tai Chi can't be forced. It has to feel as natural as breathing." Leela closed her eyes and allowed herself to be led by him. "Be the music…"

He released her arms and allowed her to carry on by herself, unwise to the fact that she was no longer under his control. After she noticed he wasn't holding her anymore, and she opened her eyes he was standing right in front of her, smiling victoriously. She blushed and stopped.

"Don't stop now! You're doing great!" he congratulated her, making her giggle. He was the only one who made her giggle like that.

Suddenly the door was slammed open by an angry-looking buffalo girl, who stomped in. Steve gave her a warm smile.

"Hello, Jamie! What can I do for you today?" he asked, the young girl's expression unaltered.

"Miss Simian sent me here. I punched William." she rudely responded, crossing her arms and looking away. Steve sighed.

"Jamie, I told you to stop doing that! I've tried everything to calm you down, but nothing seems to work…" just then he had an idea. He turned to his intern. "Leela, how would you like an opportunity to prove your hug theory?" he whispered to her with a grin.

"Really?" she asked, barely believing her hears.

"She's all yours." he gestured towards the angry preteen.

Leela took a deep breath and knelt down in front of Jamie, who lifted an eyebrow at her, not understanding what was happening. Then the lemur gave the child the most tight and comforting hug she could manage.

"What the…? Let me go!" Jamie kicked and squirmed as much as she could to release herself from the strangers grasp.

"Shh… It's OK, Jamie… It's OK…" Leela whispered, trying to calm her down. "Everything's going to be alright…" eventually the bully's efforts to escape stopped and she did something that was completely unexpected: she started crying.

"Nobody likes me!" she hugged Leela back and sobbed furiously against her chest. "I feel so alone…"

"No, Jamie… You're not alone…" Leela whispered, comforting her as best as she could. "Not anymore…"

Steve was impressed by what was happening right in front of him. Leela managed to do in her first attempt what he had tried to accomplish for years. 'She has potential', he thought.

After Jamie's crying ceased, Leela gave her a pat on the back and sent her off back to class. When she turned to Steve, he looked very pleased.

"That was very impressive!" he commented. Leela gave him a wide grin.

"It was great! I've never felt so good for helping someone!" she exclaimed happily, the excitement growing inside her. "It was so gratifying! It was -" suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her chest, so intense she had to hold herself against the wall as she grasped the sore area.

"Are you alright?" Steve quickly moved towards her and tried to hold her up, looking as concerned as ever. Leela managed to smile as she looked up at him.

"I'm fine. I just need to go to the bathroom."

She weakly regained her balance and made her way to her bag, from which she retrieved her box of pills. She wobbled out the door, leaving Steve feeling worried as heck, and managed to reach the girls' bathroom before her legs gave up. She had to hold on to the counter so as not to fall down as she took some pills from the box to her mouth and drank some tap water, which she collected with her hand. She panted as the pain started to disappear and looked up in the mirror, feeling stupid and mad at herself.

"Come on, pull yourself together!" she scolded herself. "You need this, don't blow it!" she paused and placed her hand on her chest. "Not this time…"

* * *

When the school day ended Steve locked up his office and accompanied Leela to her Vespa. He was still worried about what had happened to her earlier, and as they walked through the parking lot he tried to muster up the courage to discuss that topic.

"So, how did you enjoy your first day?" he asked, making small talk.

"It was great! Best first day ever!" she replied with a smile, which he returned.

"Great!" he thought about what to say next. "Leela, about earlier…"

"Yeah?" he had caught her attention.

"When you felt somewhat…" he tried to find the word he wanted. "…indisposed." Leela stopped as he took a few more steps forward. He turned around and saw she didn't look too pleased.

"I told you to forget about it. I'm fine…"

"Are you sure? 'Cause it sure didn't look li-"

"I'M FINE!" she exclaimed louder than she should. He looked at her surprised. Although he had just known her for one day, he didn't expect that reaction from her. She sighed and tried to smile as she approached him. "Really, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

He wasn't convinced, but smiled at her to give her the understanding that he was. They continued walking and finally reached Leela's Vespa.

"Drive safely!" he recommended as she buckled her helmet on. She giggled.

"OK, I will. And I'll try to get here earlier tomorrow." she started her vehicle, releasing a cloud of smoke behind it. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" he waved at her as she dashed off into the road.

He stood there for a few more moments, looking at the direction she took. Besides still being worried about her, he felt something else. He felt the need to protect her, to take care of her… He felt something he hadn't felt in a long time…

He felt affection.


	5. Exceptional

As the weeks went by Leela progressed in her internship with a notable sense of responsibility and professionalism. It was more than clear that she was committed to the task at hand, and Steve had no doubt she would make a great guidance counselor one day. Besides her excellent performance at soothing Jamie on her first day, he had been proven this fact one morning when he was called out to replace a sick teacher on the last minute.

"I'm up to my neck in paperwork, and I need to clear it all out today." he explained to Principal Brown, who had entered his office with the purpose of granting him the chore. "I really can't do it."

"I'm sorry, Steve, but Lucy came down with such a violent case of gastroenteritis that we are really in need of a substitute, and you're the only one available for the job." Principal Brown plead. Steve thought for a minute and remembered the only other possible choice.

"What about Leela?" he gestured towards his intern, who looked at him surprised.

"M-me?" she stuttered, caught completely unprepared. Steve nodded and turned back to Principal Brown.

"She needs the experience. Besides, I think she's ready for this kind of responsibility." he assured his superior.

"Do you really think I'm ready for this?" she asked her puffy boss.

"I know so. Besides…" he placed a hand on her shoulder. "…I trust you completely." he gave her a warm smile, which she gladly returned.

"Very well. Miss Winters, you are in charge of Miss Simian's class for the day." said Principal Brown, handing her a sheet of paper with a timetable printed on it. "Here are the classes they are having today. Miss Simian normally keeps her note books for each class in her desk drawers, so all you have to do is read from them. Now come, I'll take you to the classroom."

As Principal Brown walked out the room with Leela following him, the young lemur turned around to give Steve a last look. He gave her an encouraging thumbs-up, and she smiled thankfully at him right before exiting the office.

Three hours later Steve sighed as he put away his last piece of paperwork. As he checked the time he wondered how Leela was doing on her first time as a substitute teacher, and decided to go take a look. When he reached the classroom and looked through the door's glass viewer he couldn't help but smile: Leela was sitting on the desk and lecturing the kids about how it was important to be themselves.

"Never forget this: each and every one of you is unique, no matter what anyone else tells you!" she told her students, with the fiery determination of a politician. "Don't let anyone keep you from following your dreams! Be what your heart tells you to be, no matter how silly it may seem!" she looked around the room. "Darwin!" she called out, pointing towards the little fish who had been taken by surprise. "Tell the class what you want to be when you grow up!" Darwin rubbed his arm and looked at his feet in embarrassment.

"I don't know…" he replied timidly. Leela got up, walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have to be afraid. No one is going to make fun of you." She eyed the classroom to make them understand that.

"Well… I've always wanted to be a dancer." Darwin's eyes sparkled as he imagined himself pursuing the career of his dreams. "On Broadway!"

"And you will be! All you have to do is believe in yourself, and you'll accomplish everything." she assured the young fish, who smiled gratefully at her. She turned to the rest of the class. "Anyone else wants to share their dreams with the rest of the class? Come on, I want everyone to tell me what you want to be when you grow up!"

"Actress!" shouted Masami.

"Billionaire!" shouted Tobias.

"System analyst." Said Bobert in his usual monotonous robotic tone.

As the rest of the class expressed themselves, Leela happened to look over at the door and caught Steve looking at her with a smile spread across his face. He waved at her and she did the same.

"Miss Winters?" asked Penny, making Leela focus her attention on the class again. "Have you always wanted to become a counselor?" that question made the lemur smile.

"Yes, Penny. Ever since I was very young." She leaned back against the desk, gazing off into the distance nostalgically. "I thought if I could help children… then maybe… I would be able to help myself…"

Steve felt now even more worried about her, wondering what she meant by 'helping herself', and he could see the kids' expressions turn serious, but the bell rang before anyone could ask anything. As the kids ran out the door for recess, he entered the classroom, where Leela was storing some books into the desk drawers.

"You sure know how to handle them." He remarked. She smiled warmly at him.

"Thanks. I'm really enjoying this!" she sat behind the desk and sighed in pleasure. "I've never felt so good…"

He wanted to ask her what she meant with what she had said before, but he saw the look of bliss on her face and he just didn't have the heart to. He just wished her luck on the rest of her day as a sub and headed back to his office, mentally reminding himself to talk to her later.

* * *

Besides enjoying the fact of her being an excellent intern, Steve also enjoyed her company. Leela was someone with whom to have pleasing and interesting conversations. She was a fan of musicals, she preferred the 'Golden Oldies' to new music, and she seemed to like everything that was vintage, much to Steve's liking.

Over the weeks they were together they got to talk and find out they had a lot more in common, which made them grow more attached, like very good friends. Leela still had those unusual pain manifests on her chest from time to time, but every time Steve tried to ask her about them, she would either tell him it was nothing or change the subject. Other than that, they got along just fine. Even better than they would expect.

One afternoon, nearly on quitting time, Steve was enjoying some of his herbal tea when Leela returned from the bathroom.

"Steve, do you mind if I leave early today?" she asked, sitting back behind her desk. "I need to catch the bus." Steve stopped drinking mid-sip and gave her a confused look.

"The bus? What happened to your Vespa?" he placed his mug on his desk as she frowned.

"It's in the shop. Some idiot backed up against it and messed up the front. Now I have to wait a week before I can drive it again." She crossed her arms against her chest, clearly annoyed by that fact. Steve gave her a smile.

"You don't have to waste money on the bus. I'll drive you home." He told her, making her eyes widen.

"Steve, no… You've already done so much for me! I couldn't possibly ask you that."

"It's no problem. It's actually my pleasure!" he reassured her. Her smile returned, wider than usual. He was really the best.

Later Steve lead Leela to his 'wheels', promising her a pleasant surprise.

"You're gonna love this." he assured her. She giggled.

"If you say so." she kept walking, but he suddenly stopped and dramatically gestured towards one particular vehicle in front of him. Leela covered her mouth with her hands, barely believing her own eyes.

"Here she is!" he said, a proud look plastered across his face.

"No way…"

In front of her stood an apricot and white Volkswagen Type 2 van with a ladder on the back. From where Leela was standing it seemed to shine more than any other car around them. She finally let her hands fall from her mouth as she slowly took a step towards the classical vehicle, a smile appearing on her lips.

"I can't believe you own a real hippie van!" she touched it's side, feeling the smoothness of the paint job. It was almost too smooth, but it felt wonderful. She then turned to Steve with a mischievous smirk. "So you like 60's music, you're vegan, you practice meditation and Tai Chi, AND you own a 60's van. Is there anything else that makes you a stereotypical hippie?"

"Well, I like to chain myself to heavy machinery to prevent them from destroying forests from time to time. Does that count?" he joked, making her giggle again. He enjoyed hearing her giggle. He didn't know why, but he did.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later they arrived in front of Leela's apartment building. As Steve turned off his van Leela looked at her lap, figuring out her next move.

"Steve, thank you so much…" she started, looking directly into his eyes.

"Oh come on, it was nothing." he smiled humbly. "I can drive you until your Vespa is fixed."

"I'd like that, but it's not just that…"

"Oh?" he was curious about what she meant.

"You have been so nice to me over the past weeks… and… no one has ever been this nice to me before. Other than my parents, of course. I… I just… I wish there was some way I could repay you for your kindness…" she trailed off as he placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile.

"You don't need to thank me." his voice was soft, almost a whisper. "You are exceptional at what you do, besides being a wonderful person. You deserve everything, and much more."

He stared into her eyes for a few more until she launched herself at him and held him in a tight hug, nuzzling her head against his neck due to the fact that she was exactly his height. He was surprised at first, but then he kindly returned the embrace. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest, and he also felt something deeper: she needed that. She needed it more than anybody else.

As he stroked her back he felt her vertebrae, which he noticed were more protruding than they should be. He was also able to feel the alarming saliency of her rib cage. There was no doubt something was wrong with her, and that only made him hug her even tighter.

"Thank you…" she whispered, her voice cracking and muffled by his shoulder. "Thank you so much…" he closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder.

"You're welcome…"


	6. Under the Starlight

After that day Steve and Leela became closer than ever, especially because he was now her ride home. They got to know one another even better, and they really enjoyed each other's company. Steve still had the feeling Leela was keeping something from him, but he decided that if she didn't tell him, then she should have a good reason for it. He didn't want to force her to do something she didn't want.

Later that week Leela got a call from her mechanic telling her that her Vespa would take another two weeks to fix. Although she called him about every insult in the dictionary, inside she was thankful. Another two weeks being driven home by Steve wasn't something she minded at all.

One day they had to stay at work late to catch up on some more piled up paperwork, and when they left the sun was already down. They were both exhausted, and as Steve drove through town Leela tilted her head back against the seat's headrest.

"What a day…" Leela sighed, about ready to fall asleep. "Sure is a good thing I don't have to work today."

"You work?" asked Steve, new to this information. Leela nodded and repressed a yawn.

"I work the night shift at a karaoke bar to pay my rent and tuition. It closes on Thursdays. Must've forgotten to mention that…" she played with the dream catcher hanging from the rearview mirror. Steve looked out the window, the sky now lit up with hundreds of stars. A smile formed itself on his lips as a thought occurred to him.

"You mind if we make a stop before I take you home?" he asked with a smirk. Leela lifted an eyebrow at him.

"You're not gonna kidnap me, are you?" she joked. Steve let out a chuckle.

"No, of course not. I just want to show you something."

"OK, then." she leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes, giving her vision a much well deserved rest. As she felt the van turn through the streets of Elmore she felt herself start to doze off, until the vehicle started to slow down and stopped.

"We're here." she heard Steve say. When she slowly opened her eyes all she saw a dark sky with the most stars she had ever seen. Her eyes snapped open and she was now fully awake as she looked down and saw they had stopped on the edge of a ravine.

"Where are we?" she asked, feeling completely disorientated. "What is this place?"

"Just a place on the outskirts of town where I like to come from time to time. I normally come here to watch the sunset." he replied, gazing at the night sky. "It's the perfect place to meditate and do some soul-searching. What do you think?" Leela was overwhelmed by the beauty of the scenery before her.

"It's beautiful…" her eyes were as wide as they could get. Steve smiled to himself and opened the door.

"Come on." he exited the van. Leela followed him to the back of the vehicle and he climbed the ladder he had installed on the back, Leela doing the exact same thing when he reached the top. As soon as she arrived at the roof she felt a wave of amazement wash over her: the sky was even more beautiful from that point. Steve was sitting on the roof, patting the spot next to him so she would do the same, and laid back. Leela did the same, feeling the van's roof more comfortable than she would expect.

"It sure is peaceful out here…" she commented in a soft tone. "I've never seen so many stars before."

"There's no light pollution up here. It must be the only place around here where you can get a clear view of the sky."

"I think I remember seeing the sky like this when I was growing up… back home…" she sighed with that memory. Steve looked over at Leela, who was looking seriously at the sky.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing… Just memories of my childhood…" she folded her hands on her stomach.

"What's it like?"

"What?" she looked at him. He had his hands under his head, in a relaxing position.

"Canada."

"Well… cold, most of the time." she chuckled. "Otherwise, it's a pretty nice place to live." she looked up at the sky and sighed again, this time with a smile, remembering her homeland.

They talked for hours, about all the subjects they could think about. At some point, mostly due to the mesmerizing beauty of the starry sky, they started speaking in a philosophic mellow way.

"I know my job is to advise the students, but sometimes I feel like I'm the one who needs the most help…" Steve commented, feeling somewhat bummed out.

"I know exactly how you feel…" Leela said, silencing herself right afterwards.

"You do?" he looked over at her. She turned to the other side, not wanting to face him. He understood there was something she needed to get off her chest, but couldn't. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Leela, I'm not forcing you to do anything, but I just want you to know you can trust me."

She peeked over her shoulder. He was looking directly at her, and she could see trust in his eyes. She felt safe with him, like she hadn't felt in a long time. She sighed and turned back to face him.

"I've never told anyone this…" Leela started, hugging herself. She took a deep breath. "When I was five… my mom drove her car into the ocean… voluntarily."

"That's terrible!" Steve commented, incredulous.

"That's not the worst part…"

"What could be worse than your mom trying to drown herself in her car?"

"The fact that I was in the car with her when she did."

Steve's eyes widened and his heart started pounding against his chest. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he didn't say a word. He had no idea how to react to that.

"It was winter…" she continued. "Canada is already cold by nature, so imagine how cold the water gets in the winter…" she hugged herself tighter, as if she was actually feeling the water. "So cold…" he placed a hand on her arm to try and calm her down.

"How did you survive?" he asked softly.

"I'm not sure… I woke up at the hospital, and all they told me was that I was saved by a family of raccoons who saw the whole thing…" she sighed, tears forming in her eyes. "… and that my mom didn't make it…"

"I'm sorry…"

"I'm not." she said, her tone suggesting she was holding a grudge.

"What do you mean?"

"She tried to kill herself AND take me with her. What kind of mom does that?" she took another deep breath. "It didn't matter anyway. She was gone… and after that whole ordeal the raccoons that saved me adopted me and took me in as their own. They treated me better than my mom ever did…"

"What about your dad?"

"I questioned myself about that for a long time. I don't remember seeing my dad before my mom took me to the car, but the last time I saw him he was alive. But one day… when I was thirteen… I was playing with my stepsisters in the attic… I fell on a box of old newspapers… and found one from that year…" Leela hugged her legs against her chest. "I remember the front page so well… as if I had just seen it yesterday… 'Crazed schizophrenic housewife murders her husband and tries to drown herself in her car with her five-year-old daughter.'" she quoted the article, tears now rolling down her cheeks. "All she brought into my life was misery. She killed my dad… and tried to kill me… I've never been able to trust anyone since then... only my stepparents… I can barely sleep, because when I do I dream about that faithful day… and… and…" she furiously wiped the tears from her eyes. "Why am I even wasting me tears with her? She's not even worth it…" she looked at Steve, who was staring at her attentively. She blushed, feeling embarrassed about her angry outburst. "I'm sorry, you shouldn't have had to hear that…"

"Well, it is my job to listen to people. You've been holding that in for a long time, haven't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Then it's good that you let it all out. I can tell it was eating you inside." he gave her a reassuring smile.

"I do feel better…" she managed to smile too. "Thanks."

He kept smiling at her, and they stared into each other's eyes, sparkling under the starlight. Their gazes spoke a thousand words, and for reasons they both didn't know, they felt like there was no other place they would rather be at that moment. Steve couldn't believe how beautiful Leela looked under that light, like nothing else he had even seen. A slight breeze flew through them, making a lock of Leela's hair fly onto her face. He carefully put it back in its place, and when he did he felt the softness of her fur as his fingers brushed against her cheek. It was simply irresistible.

They both felt something drawing them together, like they have never felt before. Steve placed his hand on Leela's cheek as they moved closer, their eyes slowly closing with every inch. Leela's felt her cheeks burn when they slowly pressed their lips together into a soft kiss, and she felt her heart pound as fast as it ever did. A small portion of her being told her that she shouldn't be doing that, with him being her boss and all, but the rest of her didn't want it to end.

When they broke the kiss they were back to staring into each other's eyes, now more passionately than before.

"Steve?" Leela asked, feeling love struck.

"Yeah?"

"I-" she cringed her teeth and hugged herself. Her chest pain was back. Steve quickly sat up and held her.

"What? What's wrong?" he wanted to know what was wrong for her to have frequent chest pain, but she just shook her head as she sat up.

"It's nothing, I'm OK. I just… I'll be right back." she crawled to the end of the roof and climbed down the ladder. Steve moved to the edge of the roof, from where he saw her drag herself to passenger's seat and take something from her bag. He squinted and managed to see that she was holding a box of pills.

Now he was really worried. If whatever Leela had required her to take medication, then it was serious.


	7. Firsts

"Come on, you can do it!"

"What part of 'I have terrible balance' didn't you understand?"

Leela held onto a tree for her life. Steve had somehow convinced her into going rollerblading at the park, and she thought she could manage to at least stand up, but she failed miserably.

So far they hadn't told anyone that they were now dating, but little did they know that everybody was already aware of the situation. Their friendly antics had evolved into mushy couple frolicking, much to the discomfort of the people around them, although most of them thought it was sort of sweet.

"At least try to come to me." Steve held out his arms towards her, welcoming her into his embrace.

Leela looked down at her wobbly legs and back at him. He wasn't too far away, but she still felt insecure, like if he was a million miles from where she was. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself away from the tree, still grasping onto it, and slowly slid her left foot forward. Then her right one, then her left foot again… She repeated this movement as she approached Steve inch by inch, stretching her arms to her sides to maintain that extremely delicate balance.

"That's it, nice and slow now…" Steve encouraged her as she was only an arm's length away from him. She tried to reach him by moving one of her arms towards him, but that only made her lose her balance, and she would have fallen flat on her face if she hadn't held onto to his shoulders and if he wasn't strong enough to support her weight. She looked up at him and he gave her a comprehensive smile. "You're lucky you're in the presence of a fully licensed rollerblader."

"Oh really?" she lifted an eyebrow at him, smile mockingly. "Then where's your rollerblading license?" Steve reached into his fanny pack and retrieved a laminated card, which he handed to her. She was amazed that it really was a rollerblading license. It had his photo, his name and everything. "Uh. How about thaaAAAAHHHH!"

When she held his license she unknowingly grabbed it with both hands, which meant she released what was keeping her balanced, making her fall back, without first grabbing onto Steve's rollerblading outfit and dragging him down with her. As she fell on her back he fell on top of her. They stared at each other for a few seconds before they burst into laughter.

Leela hadn't laughed that hard in years. She couldn't remember the last time she had been that happy, and she was glad she had finally found someone to make her feel such joy.

As their laughter started to fade they took a special interest into each other's faces, which they observed with pure passion until they moved closer into a deep kiss. Leela wrapped her arms around her lover's neck as he caressed her cheeks.

"See? I told you they were dating."

"That's disturbing."

The couple stopped smooching as they heard two young male voices close to them. When they looked up they saw Gumball and Darwin. Darwin was smiling at the two, while Gumball had a look of disgust on his face.

"Gumball? Darwin?" Steve was confused to see the boys there at that hour.

"What are you guys doing here?" Leela asked, more as a formality than to actually know why they were there.

"Uh… Can't two kids enjoy a beautiful day playing in the park?" replied Gumball, with a somewhat nervous grin.

"It's ten AM on a Sunday." Steve commented, not convinced by the young cat's explanation. "I'd assume you would prefer to sleep in."

"We would. Gumball lost a bet with Hector and he's too stubborn to admit it." Darwin explained, glaring at his older chum. "Now instead of spending the day in our cozy beds, we have to stay here all day playing hopscotch with him!" Darwin practically shouted that last part at Gumball. Just then the ground started shaking as Hector walked towards them with a boulder in his hands.

"There you guys are!" he exclaimed in his deep voice. "Come on, it's your turn!" He dropped the boulder inches away from Gumball's feet. The blue feline sighed in defeat and vainly tried to push the giant rock forward.

"Maybe we should leave…" said Leela, feeling slightly disturbed by that scene.

"Agreed." Steve got up and helped Leela onto her feet. He wrapped an arm around her waist as they rolled away so she wouldn't have another accident.

"You know, if it wasn't for you, I would've never let myself be caught wearing rollerblades." Leela commented as they crossed the park.

"Well, I'm very pleased to have helped you on your first try." Steve replied with a smile.

Leela held him in a tight hug. She was actually glad he convinced her into spending her Sunday morning rollerblading. As long as it was with him.

They ended up spending the whole day together. They had lunch in a local vegan restaurant and caught a movie afterwards. When they left the movie theater it was almost seven PM.

"So where should we go next?" Steve asked, as he buckled up. Leela took her index finger to her chin as she thought of a good place to go. Then it hit her.

"Wanna check out the place where I work?" Leela asked excited. "Happy Hour's almost starting!" Steve chuckled.

"You must be the only person I know who wants to go to work on their day off." he joked as he started his van.

* * *

They arrived at Leela's workplace ten minutes later. It was a simple-looking karaoke bar in downtown Elmore called Vocal Vibes. Despite its outdoor simplicity, inside it revealed its true grandeur: the floor was red and dark blue glass with lights underneath and the walls were painted in a smooth dark-red tone with musical notes drawn on them, which seemed to be flowing across every side of the room. Besides the main long mahogany bar table with blue-cushioned stools, there were several blue tables with red chairs scattered across the room. On the furthest side of the room there was a checkered stage with a microphone stand and several speakers on the sides, all of this underneath a large screen and several highlights.

There was music in the air, the bar was flooding with customers, no doubt because it was Happy Hour, and the waitresses were busy running around taking and delivering their orders.

"Well… this is pretty nice." Steve commented, squinting due to the excessive lighting. Leela noticed that and giggled.

"First time at a karaoke bar?" she asked, feeling compassionate for him. Steve nodded. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. I had the same problem when I started. Come on."

She took his hand and directed him towards one of the tables, when he noticed something on the other side of the bar's main table which made him stop. For some reason there were two framed pictures of Leela hanging on the wall, amongst other people's pictures, one labeled 2011 and another labeled 2012, under a golden plack with the words 'Wall of Fame'.

"What's that?" Steve inquired, pointing towards the pictures. When Leela looked over at it she seemed to flinch and blush.

"Oh, that…" her tone indicated that she too happy to see that or talk about it. "Well, every year this place has a karaoke contest, and besides winning a free meal, the winner gets to have his or her picture hung on that wall for everyone to see."

"But that means..." Steve's eyes widened. "…you won for two years straight?" the redness on Leela's cheeks increased and she rubbed her arm shyly. Steve crossed his arms and smiled at her playfully with an eyebrow raised. "You never told me you were a singer!"

"It's not a big deal…" she glanced at her feet, embarrassed.

"You bet your sweet tamale it's a big deal!"

That comment came from a heavy-seat middle-aged parrot with a Brooklyn accent who had approached them without them noticing. He wore a dirty white wife-beater under an open checkered dress shirt and he had a bald spot on the top of his head.

"I've worked here for ten years, and I tell ya…" He wrapped his right wing around Leela's shoulders and gave her a friendly squeeze. "…there ain't no one with a voice as good as Velvet Lungs', over here." Leela pushed him away, smiling.

"Come on, Brandon, stop it…" she chuckled. "Steve, this is Brandon, my boss. Brandon, this is Steve, my other boss." She gestured towards the both as she introduced them. The two men shook hands.

"Pleasure. So you're the one who's been keeping one of my best employees busy!" he winked at Leela, who giggled.

"I guess so." Steve shrugged goofily. "So... 'Velvet Lungs'?"

"Just a nickname I gave Leela here, on the count of her amazing voice." Brandon explained, patting Leela's back. "I'm actually glad you came. It's time for the annual Golden Mic Karaoke Contest!" Leela's heart sunk and her expression turned grim.

"Oh no… I knew I had a good reason to stay away from this place today…" she covered her face with her hands.

"But you have to sing! You know the rules: last year's winner opens the contest." Brandon pointed out, making Leela groan. "Besides, I bet your new boss would just love to hear you sing!"

"Actually, I would." Steve said, making Leela look up at him surprised. "I would like to see just how good you are." Leela sighed.

"Fine…" she turned to Brandon. "You still have my song on the list?"

"Sure do!" Brandon turned to Steve. "You can take a seat while I take Velvet Lungs up to the stage."

Brandon place a hand on Leela's back and gave her a slight push forward. She looked back nervously at Steve, who gave her an encouraging smile. He took a seat at a table right in front of the stage to support his girl, and a few seconds later Brandon appeared on the stage, making the customers cheer.

"Alright, karaoke lovers! Hope you're all having a swell time, but now it's time for a treat! That's right, it's time for the annual Golden Mic Karaoke Contest!" the customers cheered even louder, and Steve clapped along. "Since it's customary, we're gonna kick off this thing with last year's winner. And I think you all know who it is! So put it together for our two-years-running unbeaten champion, Leela 'Velvet Lungs' Winters!"

The crowd clapped and cheered as Leela walked across the stage and took the microphone from its stand. She looked over at Steve, tense as ever. He saw that and gave her a supporting thumbs-up, which made her smile thankfully. As the music started to play Steve recognized the guitar sounds as being the introduction to the song 'I Want it That Way' by the Backstreet Boys, but when the lyrics appeared on the screen above the stage he saw that he had been proven wrong.

"_Yeah-eah…_  
A used... pink bathrobe  
A rare... mint snow globe  
A Smurf... TV tray  
I bought... on eBay

_My house... is filled with… this crap_  
Shows up in… bubble wrap  
Most every day  
What I bought on eBay…"

Steve was mesmerized by Leela's singing. To him the song wasn't that great, but for some reason the way she sung it made it sound like one of the most beautiful melodies in the world. Her voice was smooth… like velvet. Now he knew why Brandon called her 'Velvet Lungs'. For some reason he ended up feeling even more enamored by her.

"_Gonna buy!_

_A slightly-damaged golf bag  
Gonna buy!_

_Some Beanie Babies, new with tag  
From some guy_

_I've never met in Norway  
Found him on eBay_

_I am the type who_

_Is liable to snipe you  
With two seconds left to go_

_Whoa…  
Got or Visa_

_Whatever will please ya  
As long as I've got the dough…"_

Despite her shyness, Leela knew how to interact with the crowd. She seemed comfortable, like she was in her natural environment. And she wasn't even looking at the lyrics anymore.

"_Wanna buy!_

_That Farrah Fawcet poster_  
Pez dispensers and a toaster  
Don't know why...

_The kind of stuff you'd throw away  
I'll buy on eBay_

_What I bought on eBay…_"

The crowd cheered as Leela took a bow for her fans. Brandon walked up on the stage clapping and she handed him the mic.

"What a performance! Flawless as usual!" Leela walked off stage and Brandon gestured towards her as she left. "Leela Winters, everybody!" the crowd cheered again as Brandon checked some cards he was holding. "Now, let's see who's next…"

Leela headed to Steve's table, who held her in a tight hug.

"That was amazing!" he exclaimed, making her blush. "Why didn't you tell me you were so good?"

"I don't like to brag. It makes me feel uncomfortable." they both took their respective seats at the table and ordered a root beer and a herbal tea.

"I gotta say… I would never take you for a Weird Al Yankovic fan." Steve commented.

"Nobody does. But Weird Al's musical humor has helped through some tough times."

The two watched the other contestant's performances, who were clearly amateurs, as they had they respective drinks. About half-an-hour later Leela was announced as the winner, and after taking her picture, Brandon generously offered both Leela and Steve a free vegan meal, seeing how he was familiar to her eating habits.

* * *

Two hours later they arrived at the door of Leela's apartment building. Leela invited Steve up and he followed her into her room where she put her stuff away in her closet. As he looked around the room his eyes caught sight of something that spiked his attention: a picture of Leela and her family on her high school graduation. She was smiling at the camera as she held up her diploma, wearing a dark-blue gown and cap, and around them were five raccoons of different ages and genders: the eldest two, a male and a female who appeared to be in their fifties, were hugging her from both sides. An adult female raccoon in a black pantsuit was smiling at her and a younger female, possibly in her teen years, was smiling widely at the camera whilst hugging a little female raccoon, who didn't seem too pleased by that fact.

Steve picked up the small frame from the nightstand where it rested and caressed the glass with his fingers. Leela had gone through so many ordeals in her life, it was amazing how she managed to be so positive. He was so focused in that family picture he didn't notice Leela peeking over his shoulder.

"That was a pretty good day." She stated, making him jump slightly with the scare.

"Is this your family?" he asked, handing her the framed photograph. She nodded, staring at the picture nostalgically.

"My parents…" she pointed at the oldest couple hugging her. "… and my sisters." She pointed at the remaining three females. "I'm the second oldest, right after April." She pointed at the female in the pantsuit. "They've helped me a lot…" she sighed, placing the frame back on the nightstand and sitting on her bed, Steve taking a seat right beside her. "Sometimes I wonder…" she stared seriously at her hands on her lap. "… if they hadn't been there to save me… I wouldn't be here right now." She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "I owe them my life." Steve placed a hand on her shoulder, which made her face him.

"You've been through a lot, but you managed to stay strong with each step." He looked deep into her eyes, seeing how much fear she felt. "That takes a lot of courage. Not many people would have been able to stay sane after experiencing what you did." He placed his free hand on her other shoulder to further accentuate his point. "You're a strong independent woman. And quite frankly… you're the most special living being I have ever met."

Leela couldn't take it. That had to be the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. She launched herself into Steve's arms and kissed him with great passion, which he did too after recovering from the initial surprise. They kept kissing as they tumbled on the bed, Steve on top of her. He slipped his hand under her shirt and caressed her back while he kissed her softly on the neck, making her moan in pleasure as she held onto his torso with both hands.

"Mmm… S… Steve…?" she weakly called out, desire filling up inside and making her cheeks burn. He looked up at her.

"Yes?" he asked, also burning with desire.

"Be gentle." she slipped her hands onto the back of his neck and he smiled compassionately.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Meanwhile, on the lower floor, Leela's downstairs neighbor, an elderly mushroom, had just gotten into bed and turned off her lamp, and was about to doze off into sleep, when she was abruptly awoken the sound of a squeaky mattress and loud moaning coming from upstairs.

"Darn teenagers and their raging hormones…"

* * *

"Mmm, no… please… mommy, no…"

Steve was awoken with movement beside him. It took him a while to remember where he was, but when he did he also realized what was happening: Leela was furiously tossing and turning in her sleep, mumbling about her dream. He was now fully awake, and tried to wake her.

"Leela? Leela, wake up." he said softly as he shook her shoulder, but with no result. She kept fighting in her subconscious, now sweating heavily.

"Mommy, no, please…" she plead again, her voice cracking slightly.

"Leela…" he shook her more vigorously and raised his voice a bit, still with no effect.

"No… no…"

"Leela!" he was practically screaming now, shaking both her shoulders.

"MOMMY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, springing up as she awoke in complete panic. Steve took hold of her arms to try and stabilize her.

"It's OK… it was only a dream." he told her in a calm tone.

Leela was panting hardly and her pupils were contracted to their minimum. Not able to hold it in any longer, she held onto her lover's bare upper body and started crying frantically. He hugged her back, feeling her shiver, and although her face was buried in his chest and her tears were getting him wet, he didn't mind. He didn't even move.


	8. Chaos

Steve twitched as he felt the rays of sunlight come in from the blinds. He slowly opened his eyes and looked over at the alarm clock on his right. 7:53. They were going to be late for work, but for once he didn't care. He carefully turned to his left to glance over at Leela, who was now sound asleep. After the night she had had, he knew she needed some rest.

He watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful, so helpless… He felt the need to take care of her. She needed to be taken care of. After the stressful childhood she had, she definitely needed a break. More importantly, she needed someone to care for her. Someone who loved her.

He observed her breathing. She was sleeping on her stomach, but he could still see her back raise with every breath. She was breathing easily now, as opposite to the panic attack she had had just a few hours before.

His gaze now focused on the rest of her figure, and he could now see just how protuberant her ribcage was. It almost scared him. He knew she ate well, so it wasn't an eating disorder. She worried him. He wondered if her childhood trauma had lead to any serious repercussions, and he remembered her chest pains and the time he saw her taking pills for that. Could those things somehow be related? He needed to have a serious talk with her sometime.

His state of thought was interrupted when he saw her move slightly. As she started to open his eyes he gave her a warm smile.

"Morning, Velvet Lungs." he greeted her. She managed to form a weak smile.

"Hey…" she yawned, still half asleep. "What time is it?"

"Almost eight o'clock." he replied, checking the clock again. Leela's smile turned into a frown.

"Damn it… I really need to get another alarm clock…"

"It's OK. I'm sure your boss won't mind." he joked, playfully poking her nose.

Leela sat up and stretched her arms to the sides, letting out another yawn. As she rubbed her eyes she felt Steve's gaze on her. When she turned around she saw him staring lovingly at her.

"…What?" she asked, starting to feel a little uncomfortable.

"You're beautiful…" he replied in a soft tone.

Leela blushed, bashful, and noticed his shirt on the foot of her bed. Smirking to herself, she grabbed and put in on. The rainbow-patterned t-shirt was big enough to contain two of her, but she liked how it looked on her. Extending her arms to her sides, she looked back at him.

"How about now?" she asked, smiling playfully at his surprised expression.

"Well… that shirt's never looked so good!" he replied, making her giggle. She crawled next to him and pressed her lips against his in a deep passionate kiss, which he gladly returned. Afterwards she got up and off the bed and started heading towards the door.

"I'm gonna go make some coffee. You want some?" she asked, turning around and leaning against the doorframe.

"No thanks. I don't drink coffee." he replied, sitting up and stretching his arms forward. "And you shouldn't, either. It's a vasoconstrictor, you know."

"It might be, but it's the only thing that makes me function in the morning."

As she headed out of the room, Steve got up from the bed and straightened the sheets as best as he could.

"Leela, can I use your shower?" he called out, heading towards the bathroom.

"Sure, knock yourself out!" she replied from the kitchen.

Steve was amazed about how clean and tidy her bathroom was. It was absolutely spotless. But then again it was a woman's bathroom…

He was about to walk into the shower when something caught his eye: on the counter, right next to the sink and the hand soap, was a cylindrical orange container which he immediately recognized as the box of pills he had seen Leela take a few days earlier. He knew it was none of his business, but it had spiked his curiosity in a way that he couldn't help but take a look at it. As he held the small box in his hand and read the label, he saw, right below Leela's name, the name of the medicine it contained: nitroglycerin.

Heart medicine.

Alarmed and with his worry-meter now off the scale, Steve placed the box back on its place. Why hadn't she told him she had a heart problem? Normally relationships should be based on trust, shouldn't they? But it seemed that wasn't the case…

After a long and silent shower, which was odd for him, since he usually sung, or at least hummed, while he washed himself, Steve put on his pants and his sandals and emerged in the kitchen, still wiping his head, and saw Leela talking on her cell phone.

"That's awesome! Thanks!" she said right before hanging up.

"What's up?" he handed her his wet towel, which she hung right outside the window.

"That was my mechanic. He says my Vespa is finally ready and that I can go pick it up at the end of the day." she replied excitedly as she closed the window.

"Cool…" he commented, distractedly. He wanted to approach her about the pills, but he didn't know how or where to begin. He knew it was a delicate subject, and after seeing her reaction to when he had asked her about her chest pain a few weeks earlier, he wanted to be more careful as not to aggravate her.

"Are you OK?" Leela asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. He had been gazing off into the distance for so long she had started to worry. He nodded and faked a smile.

"Sure!" he replied, his tone a little more high-pitched than usual. Leela wasn't convinced, and she had studied psychology long enough to know what that meant.

He was lying.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent in an utterly unsettling silence. For some reason, Steve didn't speak half as much as he used to, and it was starting to bother Leela. He had never acted like that before. Normally he was so willing to have a conversation… She had no idea what was going on with him, but she didn't like it.

When the end of the day came, the two were off to Leela's mechanic to pick up her Vespa.

"She sure was a handful, but here you go." the mechanic said, as he handed Leela her keys. Leela's mechanic was a big smelly rat (literally) who had oil stains all over his fur and seemed to be anything but trustworthy.

"Well you can bet I'm never coming here again!" she pulled her keys from his greasy fingers and turned away from him. All he did was shrug and walk away to work on another vehicle. Leela walked around her precious scooter to examine it. "Well, at least it's fixed… even if it did cost me a fortune."

"Mm-mm…" Steve muttered, gazing at the floor.

Leela couldn't take it anymore. She walked up right in front of him and placed her hands on her hips with a frown.

"Alright, what's going on?" she asked him. He looked up at her and saw she didn't look too pleased.

"Nothing, I-"

"No, it's not nothing!" she cut him off. "You've been practically mute all day! Now what is going on?"

Steve couldn't do anything but stare at his feet. Now he felt embarrassed for not talking to her all day.

"It's complicated…" he tried to explain. Leela's expression lightened as she went from mad to worried. She held Steve's hands in hers and forced him to look at her.

"Well, at least try. You know you can trust me."

He could see tenderness and worry in her eyes. He knew he had to be honest with her, but how? Defeated, he sighed and grasped her hands.

"OK…" he breathed in and looked deep into her eyes. "This morning I saw your box of pills on your bathroom counter." he saw her expression turn from worry to shock. "I couldn't help myself, so I went and looked at the label, and-"

"Steve, what the HELL?!" she quickly released his hands. She looked furious. "What were you thinking?! You had no business going through my stuff!"

"But… but I-"

"No, just save it! I don't wanna hear it."

She stomped towards her Vespa and put on her helmet.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked, worried she would do something stupid out of rage.

"I need to clear my head." she replied, hopping onto her vehicle and turning it on. "You don't have to drive me home today."

Steve tried to approach her, but when he did she sped off and all he got was a face-full of exhaust fumes. He coughed and fanned the smoke away with his hand, but when he opened his eyes she was gone. He sighed and looked down at the floor defeated, and when he did he saw something that made him freeze: there was an oil puddle right on the spot where Leela's Vespa had been, and a line of the same fluid that extended itself to the direction she had driven off to. He looked around and saw that the mechanic was inspecting a nearby car.

"Excuse me!" he called out. "Could you please tell me what that is?" he asked, pointing towards the puddle. The mechanic approached it and took a closer look.

"That there's brake fluid." he said, as he got up and wiped his hands with an oily rag. "Whichever car is leaking it will have a real hard time braking."

Steve's heart sunk. Leela had just driven off into the city on a scooter with no brakes.

* * *

Wind blowing through her hair, Leela drove across Elmore feeling betrayed and heart-broken, no particular destination in her mind. She just needed blow off some steam.

Wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye, she allowed herself to think and realized she had overreacted. Steve may have meddled where he wasn't supposed to, but it was only because he worried about her and wanted to help her. And she had acted as if he had committed some sort of crime. Now feeling completely stupid, Leela decided she should mend things as soon as she could.

She saw a red light in front of her and pressed her brakes, with no result. She kept trying to stop the speeding Vespa, especially because there was a truck now heading in her direction. She pressed and pressed the brakes, now starting to panic. The truck driver was now honking at her, also unable to stop his vehicle. She tried a couple more times, her heart beating at full speed and her chest aching from the anxiety and panic. The last thing she saw was the front of the truck inches away from her face.

Then it all went black.

During that, Steve was driving his van around town, searching for Leela to warn her before it was too late. He had just made a turn when he saw a crowd rushing towards a spot where it seemed there had been an accident. Praying for it not to be what he thought, he parked his van and headed towards the crash on foot.

When he caught sight of the scene in front of him, his heart sunk: Leela was passed out on the nose of a truck, her Vespa completely destroyed from the impact. Faced-down on the front of the vehicle, she was bleeding out fast. Feeling woozy from the sight, Steve had to force himself not to faint.

He ran up to the scene, pushing away the people staring at the tragedy, and turned Leela's unconscious body. Her face had bruises and scratches on it, the worst damage being on her nose and limbs. He could now see she was bleeding out from her head, the blood oozing from under her helmet. He gently tapped her cheeks to try and wake her.

"Leela? Leela, please wake up." he tried to give her mouth-to-mouth, but with no result. "Leela, wake up!" his voice was now cracking as the tears started to emerge. "Please… don't go…"

He held her in close in his arms, feeling the coldness of her body. Crying desperately, he felt her warm blood soak through his shirt as he heard the sound of ambulance sirens increase as they approached the scene.

"I love you…"


	9. Comatose

Steve buried is face into his hands as he sat outside the ICU, slightly rocking himself back and forth. Just a few moments earlier the doctor had rushed Leela's unconscious body into the room, barking orders at the nurses around him as they dragged the gurney across the hallway. He had told him to wait outside as they tried to revive her. Now he worried for her life.

Exhausted and with his clothes drenched in blood, he felt tremendously guilty. If only he had respected her boundaries… maybe now she would still be there with him…

As he blamed himself in thought, he felt the tears rise again.

"Mr. Small?"

He quickly lifted his head and wiped away the wetness from his eyes as he saw the doctor standing in front of him. He had been so focused on his thoughts he hadn't noticed he was there.

"How is she?" Steve asked, standing up promptly. The doctor's expression didn't look too reassuring.

"She's in a coma, but she's stable." He flipped through the pages on his chart. "She was pretty lucky. If she hadn't been wearing a helmet, the damage would have been much worse." Steve sighed, feeling a bit calmer. "Although there is something that's preoccupying me…"

"What?" Steve felt the worry return, his heart pounding hardly against his chest.

"I got a hold of Miss Winters' medical records, and it seems she suffers from Prinzmetal's angina."

"Prinz… what?"

"It's a heart syndrome, typically consisting of cardiac chest pains and occurring in cycles. It's caused by a narrowing of the coronary arteries, which is caused by contraction of the smooth muscle tissue in the vessel walls. It's more common to occur in younger women, such as her."

"That explains why she was taking nitroglycerin pills…" Steve said, now realizing everything. "Can that be a problem?"

"Well, the crash mostly affected her head and limbs, but she lost a lot of blood, which we are now supplying her with. We're hoping we didn't get to her too late, or else she might go into cardiac arrest."

Feeling himself run out of blood on his head, Steve forced himself to stay up and shook his head.

"Can I see her?"

The doctor nodded as he opened the door behind him to allow Steve in. As soon as his eyes laid on Leela, he automatically covered his mouth with his hands: her head was bundled up with gauze and cast, her neck and shoulders were covered by some sort of plastic cast, which he knew was used when someone had a broken clavicle, and her left arm was also in a cast. She had several bandages on her face, which was stained with dry blood, and her broken nose had gauze on it. A catheter was hooked up to her right arm, sending blood from the plastic bag into her body, a small plastic tube was inserted into both her nostrils to provide her with oxygen and several electrodes were taped onto her chest to measure her heart rate, the sound of the beeping heart monitor being the only thing echoing through the four walls of the hospital room.

Feeling faint with the sight, Steve forced himself to slowly walk the bed where his girlfriend laid, unconscious. As soon as he was by her side, he fell to knees. He took her good hand, and looked at her. She only seemed to be sleeping, soundly and peacefully…

He sniffed as he felt the tears rise again, and swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

"I'm so sorry…" he squeezed her hand tight. "This is all my fault. If only I hadn't done what I did… you wouldn't be in this state." he wiped his inexistent nose with the back of his hand. "I promise I won't leave your side. Ever again." his voice cracked as the tears rolled down his cheeks. "I need you…"

He laid his head softly on her lap. He could feel her heartbeat, slow and steady, and realized how tired he was. His eyes darted towards the wall clock, which told him it was almost eleven at night. His eyelids felt heavy, and he could barely keep them open. Forcing himself to stay awake, he asked the nurse to get him a coffee. For the first time in his life, he was in desperate need of caffeine.

* * *

After a sleepless night, Steve called the school and told them why he wouldn't be able to make it in the next few days, if not for a longer time period. Principal Brown assured them that it was fine and that he would alert the other teachers and the students. Having not eaten in over twelve hours, the nurses insisted that he should go to the bar for a decent meal, which he refused, not wanting to leave Leela for one second.

He stood in the same spot all day, sitting right next to her and softly stroking her right hand. His eyes hurt from both crying and the lack of sleep, and his stomach ached in need of sustenance. He checked the clock again, seeing it was now a little past three PM. He sighed once again, feeling completely helpless as to what to do, when he heard rushing outside the door. At first he figured they were taking another patient to the emergency room, but he was surprised to hear the door slamming open behind him. When he turned around saw the entire Watterson family, Nicole holding the door against the wall and panting hardly.

"What are you doing here?" he stood up from his chair and headed towards them, astonished by their unexpected visit.

"The kids just told me what happened." Nicole replied, holding him in a tight hug. "How is she?"

"She's in a coma. I have no idea what to do…" he felt the tears start to emerge again. He had lost count on how many times that had happened in those two days.

"Well, for one thing, you should get some rest." she looked at his state. His eyes were bloodshot with large bags underneath them and somehow a five o'clock shadow was appearing around his chin. "You look like you haven't slept in days!"

"I haven't. I'm waiting for her to wake up."

"You shouldn't do this to yourself, it won't help her in any way! Besides, I bet she wouldn't want you to be depriving yourself of sleep because of her."

He looked over at Leela in state of unconsciousness and sighed. Nicole was right.

"You're right… but I can't leave her side. I promised her…"

Nicole smiled, understanding everything. She placed her hands on his shoulders as to comfort him.

"Then we'll stay here with you, so you don't have to go through this alone." Nicole assured him, ignoring the annoyed groans coming from her husband and older son. Steve managed to give her a week smile.

"Thanks."

"Is she going to be alright?" asked Darwin in a weepy tone, standing right next to Leela's bed and looking at her worriedly.

"Yes, sweetie, she's going to be fine." Nicole soothed her middle child, gently petting his head. "She's just in a very deep sleep."

"I read that comatose people are aware of what's going on around them, even they're not able to respond." explained Anais, reading Leela's chart at the foot of her bed.

"Well, if she is hearing us, I'm sure she realizes that everyone here is rooting for her." Nicole said as looked over at Steve, who smiled at her understandingly.

He hoped that was true.


	10. The Awakening

The first thing Leela felt as she regained consciousness was discomfort. Her whole body felt sore, and she had no idea why. She barely remembered anything. Her mind felt hazy and blank, as if she was on something.

She tried to move, but couldn't. She felt like was under restraints, and somehow her left arm weighed four times its normal weight. Her mouth tasted like dry blood and her nostrils were clogged, making it hard for her to breathe through them. She was so drowsy it felt like the room was turning.

As she slowly opened her eyes and tried to adjust them to the almost absent light of the room, her gaze fell upon Steve, who was sound asleep with his head on her lap. Besides that, all she could see was that she was in a hospital room with a broken arm.

She didn't want to wake him, but she needed to find out what had happened to her that she was required to be in that particular place. She noticed her right arm was fine, apart from the catheter inserted into her vein, and slowly lifted it up to give him a nudge.

"Don't wake him. This is the first time he's slept in days." she heard someone whisper next to her. She wasn't able to move her neck, but she managed to turn her head to her left enough to see that that command had come from a blue female cat she had never seen before in her life.

"Who… who are you?" she asked weakly. The feline was giving her a warm smile, like she had known her all her life.

"My name is Nicole. I'm an old friend of Steve's." she explained. "I've been here keeping him company while you recover."

"What happened? Why am I here?"

"You where in an accident. All I know is that a truck crashed into you on the road. You've been in a coma ever since." Leela's eyes widened.

"A coma?!" she exclaimed, feeling completely disorientated. "For how long?"

"A little over five days. You were very lucky, you know? You probably wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him." she pointed towards Steve with her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, from what I heard, when the ambulance reached the place where the accident occurred, Steve was holding you firmly in his arms, desperate for your wellbeing, and the paramedics said that his body heat was what kept you from losing your live." Nicole stood and headed towards the bed, placing a hand on Leela's shoulder. "He hasn't left your side ever since. He hasn't eaten in the time he's been here, because he refuses to leave you for even five minutes."

Leela's gaze slowly drifted from the cat to fall upon the sight of her sleeping lover. From the time she knew him she had realized he was kind and loving to anyone and anything, but this one took the gold. She knew he cared for her, but on no circumstances she had thought he would sacrifice his health just to make sure she was OK. That made her eyes water up as she watched him sleep with a smile across her face.

"I should go. Visiting hours will be over soon." said Nicole as she looked over at the clock on the wall. "Take care, darling." she softly brushed Leela's cheek with her knuckles and quietly exited the room, slowly closing the door behind her.

Leela stared at the door for a few more seconds for no particular reason, allowing her mind to wander. What Nicole had told her touched her in a way she had never been touched before, mostly due to the fact that no one had ever done something so loving and altruistic for her. Steve could have died of starvation, but it was obvious he didn't care the least about it.

She turned her attention back her loved one, still sleeping like a baby on her lap. A small trickle of drool escaped his mouth as he breathed through it, making her smile as she realized how innocent and adorable he looked. She wanted to hold him close and cover him with kisses, but she didn't dare to awake him from his sleep. She just watched with love-filled eyes, feeling extremely thankful for having someone so wonderful at her side.

At some point her eyes started to feel tired, and as she leaned her head back against her pillow she drifted away into a deep slumber.

* * *

"Sir, please, go home and take a shower. You're unsanitary."

"I don't care, I'm not leaving her!"

"But you could contamina– "

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?! I AM NOT FREAKING LEAVING HER!"

Leela was awaken by the sound of a fight going on around her, recognizing one of the voices to be Steve's and the other being from who she assumed to be one of the nurses.

"Sir, you are a liability!"

"No, you're a liability! It's been a week now and she still hasn't woken up!"

"That's just how comas are! Some of them can take years! There's nothing I can do about it!"

"Then just get out of here, YOU'RE COMPLETELY USELESS!"

Yikes, it sure didn't take long for him to forget all he had learned about keeping calm under pressure, Leela thought to herself.

She heard the unmistakable sound of stomping feet go across the room and a door slamming hard. She figured the nurse had taken enough insults for one day and left. Not very long after she felt some weight on her lap and heard Steve sobbing hardly against it.

"What am I going to do?" he asked with apparent desperation in his voice, muffled by the bed sheets. "I'm the one who's useless! I can't do anything to help you!"

Leela opened her eyes to see him cry, his face buried on the linens, slowly getting soaked by his tears.

"I should have respected your privacy!" he continued, his anxious tone increasing. "It should've been me… If only I had gotten to you sooner… then maybe I could've saved you!"

Leela felt terrible. All that had happened was because she had been a complete tool, and he was blaming himself for it. If there was anyone who hadn't had any fault in this, it was him.

"I miss you so much…" he declared, making her snap out of her thoughts. "I miss the sound of your voice…"

"Steve?"

He quickly lifted his head to see the source of that calling. His tear-drenched face froze as he saw Leela looking at him with half-lidded eyes and a warm smile on her lips.

"L-Leela…?" he stuttered in disbelief.

"Remind to sue my mechanic." she faintly joked.

Steve's shocked expression turned into the widest of grins once he had processed the scene in front of him: Leela was awake. She was FINALLY awake! He wanted to hug her as tight as he could, but due to her condition all he did was grab her good hand and kiss it tenderly.

"I thought I was going to lose you." he said as the tears returned to his eyes, now tears of joy. Her smile dropped as she remembered what had happened that had lead to that situation.

"I'm sorry…" she felt the tears emerge herself. "This is all my fault…"

"No, it's OK, I understand. The doctor told me about your heart."

She looked up at him, at his sincere gaze. How could she have ever kept anything from him? The guilt she felt was unbearable.

"I should have told you sooner. It's just… I'm not very comfortable sharing personal details about myself with other people." she sighed and looked away once more. "I never have been…"

"Don't worry, I understand." he gently clutched her chin with his thumb and forefinger and lifted her head so he could look into her eyes. "You've had a lot of traumatic experiences. I would never force you into doing something you didn't want to." he brought his face closer to hers, so much she could feel him breathing against her nose. "I love you."

Leela's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't noticed it before, but she had been waiting to hear those three words for a long time now, yet she still couldn't believe her own ears. He loved her. He really loved her!

She felt her eyes water up again as her lips trembled into a big smile.

"I… I love you too!" she replied, her voice cracking as tears rolled down her cheeks.

He locked his lips with hers for the first time in a week, making her heart beat faster and the tears run down more abundantly. As he pulled back, he very carefully wrapped his arms around her and held her close, savoring that moment in absolute silence.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"No offense, but the nurse was right. You really need to take a shower. You reek."


	11. Endings and New Beginnings

Leela left the hospital about a week after waking up, when most of her bones were healed and after the doctor making sure she hadn't suffered any brain damage, with specific instructions to stay home for another two weeks before returning to work if she wanted to be completely healed. She spent those weeks at Steve's, after much insistence from his part, where she spent most of the time in his bed recovering, while he catered to her every whim. She felt bad for not being able to help him and that he had to play waiter for her, but she also thought it was really sweet of him to go through so much trouble just to make her feel better. And she loved falling asleep cuddled up next to him every night, his arms carefully placed around her as if to protect her from some sort of nocturnal evil that could strike.

After that time passed, Leela couldn't be happier to have all her casts removed and be able to move freely and do things for herself. She was told to take it easy, since her healed parts were still sensitive, but she forgot that quite quickly, as she returned to her usual busy lifestyle. Since her Vespa had been totaled in the crash, and she didn't know how to drive any other vehicle, she got a permanent carpool service from Steve, who couldn't be happier about it. Just more time they spent in each other's company, now that Leela was back to her apartment.

Later that month came the day they both dreaded: the day when Leela's internship came to an end. She had feared that day since her relationship with Steve started to get more serious, and it came before she knew it.

"Well, I guess that's it…" she sighed as she closed her laptop. Her thesis was finished and now she had to hand it in, which meant the end of her college education. She was now ready to join the working class.

She sighed once more as she looked around Steve's office, noticing some details she hadn't noticed before, now that she was taking a closer look. She was going to miss that place, and she was especially going to miss him. Sure they could still see each other outside the office, but it just wouldn't feel the same to her.

After placing her laptop in her messenger bag she exited the office and slowly closed the door behind her, after which she stood a while staring at it. It was nothing but a wooden structure that was used to block the entrance to that particular room, but to her it was a gateway to a large number of good memories, and she was going to miss it.

"Saying your goodbyes?" asked Steve as he approached her in the hallway. She gave him a small smile.

"Yeah… I'm really going to miss working here…" she moved closer to him. "… with you."

He held her close in a warm hug, closing his eyes and nuzzling his cheek against her forehead.

"I'm going to miss working with you, too." he whispered. "It's a real shame… I could really use an assistant like you."

"I'm sure you'll find someone." she whispered in return as she closed her eyes.

"I already did." he chuckled slightly.

Her eyes shot open and she gazed at him with a quizzical expression.

"What…?"

"I talked to Principal Brown, and he agreed that I could use some assistance." he declared with a victorious grin spread wide across his face. "So he hired you. You start in the beginning of the next school year."

Leela's eyes widened as she held her breath. After a moment she felt her smile grow and she grasped Steve in the tightest hug she could manage, laughing loudly in the process.

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!" she cheered, tears escaping her eyes from her joyous state.

"You're… welcome…" Steve managed to choke out, her tight grip crushing his lungs.

She released his body to pull his face against hers in a deep kiss, which he gladly returned. As they tore away for air, they leaned their foreheads against each other's, gazing at each other with love in their eyes.

"Why are you so good to me?" she asked in a soft tone, making his smile grow wider.

"Because you deserve it." he replied and planted another kiss on her lips.

* * *

"And now, your valedictorian, Leela Winters."

The dean of Elmore Community College made his way out of the podium to make room for the student in the black gown and cap. Leela walked up with a large lump in throat, her nerves taking the best of her. As soon as she reached the stand she had to hold onto the wooden structure, feeling like she would pass out any moment.

She had been given the job of giving out a speech at her graduation ceremony at the moment she handed in her thesis, being caught completely off guard. It was a task of the upmost importance and responsibility, for if she failed she would ruin the entire ceremony.

Grasping the stand tightly with her sweaty palms, she looked over to the audience, staring at her in expectation. That just made her anxiety grow, that is until she saw one good thing amongst the friends and family of the soon-to-be-graduates: Steve was sitting in the middle of the last row, smiling at her. Her heart warmed up as she felt herself grin. That was all the encouragement she needed.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to smile as she faced the crowd, trying to show some confidence in herself.

"Well, this is it… the moment we've all been waiting for: graduation." heads turning their attention to her, she straightened her back, trying to make herself look worthy of the position she had been given. "I know most of you have looked forward to this day since this year started. And believe me, so did I! And it really went by in flash. But I gotta tell you… I really enjoyed this last year. Not just because it was educationally fulfilling, but also because I learned a lot outside the classroom." she took a moment to gaze at the stand, reflecting on passed events. "I've learned that… even if life seems to be turning everyone and everything against you, you shouldn't stop fighting to get where you want. It's a journey filled with obstacles, which only get worse as you are reaching your destination. But at the end, you find out that it was all worth it." she took another deep breath and beamed towards the crowd. "So don't let anything keep you from reaching happiness. And you'll see the journey will go easier if you have a travel partner by your side."

She met Steve's eyes and smiled warmly at him. His own smile grew as he felt his heart melt.

"So, now that you're off to fulfill your dreams professionally, remember that each and every one of you is responsible for your own actions, and every decision you make can influence your future. But for now…" she took off her cap with a grin. "…WE DID IT!"

As she threw her cap into the air the rest of the class followed, sending cheers and claps which were mimicked by the rest of the attendance. Giving into her gleeful nature, Leela hopped up and down merrily in front of the stand. She spotted Steve amongst the crowd, now standing up and waving at her. She did the same, only to lose her balance, and she would have fallen if she hadn't held onto the stand once more, laughing loudly in joy.

Later on, grasping her diploma for her life, she ran into his arms, still shaking with excitement.

"I did! I finally did it!" she couldn't stop laughing, starting to hop again.

"Easy there, miss Child Psychology major!" Steve chuckled, clutching her arms to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy!" she squealed, holding him in a tight hug.

As her energy started to warn out, she found comfort by nuzzling against his shoulder.

"I liked your speech." he whispered, softly stroking her hair.

"I was inspired by you."

"I noticed." he gently elevated her head by her chin and pressed his lips against hers. She noticed his left arm was folded behind his back, and it seemed as if he was hiding something from her.

"What's that?" she asked as she pulled away, trying to look over his shoulder.

"Oh, this…" taking his left arm from behind his back, he revealed a medium-sized rectangular box covered in wrapping paper. "It's a graduation present. Oh, and in my defense, they didn't have any better wrapping paper."

As she held the present and took a good look at it, she could see the wrapping paper consisted in teddy bears dancing around in a land of candy and rainbows. It had to be the tackiest thing she had ever seen. Trying hard not to burst out laughing, she unwrapped her present, but her smile died once she realized what it was. With pure disbelief showing in her face, she stared at the object in her hands: it was a blue digital alarm clock.

"You bought me an alarm clock…" she still couldn't believe her eyes.

"Well, I knew how much you needed one, and I really wanted to get you something, so I thou—"

She launched herself into his arms and landed a deep kiss on his lips before he could finish his sentence.

"I love you." she declared as she pulled away, completely love-struck.

"For getting you an alarm clock?"

"For everything."

She pulled him into another kiss, making him forget about everything else and just letting himself go with it, overwhelmed by emotions.

Forgetting all about the other people around them, they kissed tenderly for what seemed to be a long time, as the sun started to descend behind the hills.


	12. The Cure

_"MOMMY, NO! MOMMMMYYYY!"_

_The car dove nose-first into the gelid surface of the water with a loud splash, causing the driver, an adult female lemur, to bang her head against the steering wheel, knocking her out. As the blood rained down from her forehead, the five-year-old female lemur in the backseat started to cry desperately as she panicked._

_The water was now entering the vehicle at an alarming speed, and the child could feel the walls start to compress against her as they descended deeper. She managed to escape through the car's open window, but they were too deep down for her fragile little limbs to be able to swim towards the surface. She tried her best to reach it, but soon she was starting to run out of breath. As her vision started to blacken, she could've sworn she had seen a figure swimming in her direction._

_Moments later, as she regained consciousness, she could feel air flowing through her lungs once more, and she coughed to expel the remaining salt water from her throat._

_"Don't worry. You're safe now."_

_That voice was deep and soft, and to her it sounded somewhat comforting. She could now feel herself resting on a fluffy and soft surface, which felt to her like the most comfortable of beds._

_As she opened her eyes she saw her savior. He was standing against the sunlight, making it impossible for her to see his face, but she could see that he was white and puffy; a cloud in the shape of a man._

_"Who… who are you?"_

_"Well… let's just say I'm your guardian angel."_

_"Where's my mommy?"_

_He gazed into the distance, as if trying to find the right words to explain that delicate situation to a child._

_"Your mommy… is in a better place now."_

_"Will I ever see her again?"_

_"No, sweetie… I'm sorry…"_

_Understanding now what he meant, tears started rolling down her cheeks as she started to whimper. He held her closer in his arms._

_"Don't worry. I'll protect you. And I'll never let you go. I'll be with you forever."_

_She buried her face into his shirt to cry, and he held her even tighter, just enough not to hurt her._

_"And ever?"_

_Silence overcame them, as if he was contemplating his thoughts once more._

_"And ever."_

For the first time in her life, Leela woke up in the middle of the night without jumping up or screaming. That had been the best dream she had had in years, and she knew exactly what it meant.

She looked over to her side to the cloud man sleeping deeply beside her. Steve had been the best thing that had happened to her. He was exactly what she needed: sweet, kind, caring, and above all, trustworthy. Just what she had always wanted.

Slowly snuggling against his chest, she basked in his warmth and the softness of his body, trying her best not to wake him up, and it didn't take long for her to fall asleep again.

Steve woke up not very long after, feeling something tickling his eyelid, only to find out it was Leela's ear. Looking down he couldn't help but smile to himself as he saw his sweetheart sleeping so close to him.

He was glad he had found her. Nobody else could have ever made him feel as happy as she did, and he knew she felt the same way. He was now certain she was his better half.

Carefully placing his arms around her he dozed off into sleep again, completely pleased about having found the love of his life.


End file.
